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The best player is fairly objective. The list we compiled for the paper tried to encompass a player’s Albany career with what he did afterward in the NHL, and we excluded those who hadn’t played at least 50 games in Albany. The poll below features our top five players.

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We had a lot of trouble with our list of 20 and I’m sure excluded players others feel should have been on. Stephen Gionta, Adam Henrique and Cale Hulse all were on the list at one point and later removed. Any others who should be on? Please leave your comments below.

Thanks for the article Pete, it is great to see someone acknowledging the 20 years of hockey in Albany.

If the Devils had any sense in marketing, then they would wear a River Rats throwback on January 26th vs. ADK to celebrate 20 years. They could also try and have Adirondack wear their Red Wing style jerseys they wore on their opening night this season. On the same weekend last year vs. ADK the attendance was over 8,000 so there is good chance of a decent turnout, especially with the $5/$10 ticket promotion. Do some marketing with the Union vs. RPI game that night at the Times Union center and they could have a “Hockey Day in the Capital District” with events at the Empire Plaza ice rink. The NHL could even cancel the season by then and they could try to have players like Elias, Sullivan, etc. come to the game/events. If only the Devils had any sense in marketing….

I’d put Sheldon Souray, Petr Sykora and maybe Brendan Morrison on the list. Although Sutton and Helmer were great in Albany and are gentlemen, the other guys had better NHL careers. Reid Simpson, Krys Oliwa and Cam Jannsen left their marks in the NHL in other ways as well.

I’d also include that wild brawl vs Providence in January 1999 and the first huge Adirondack crowd back in the spring of 1994. Game started with Hankinson putting Boughner through the glass, and the tension didn’t let up all night.

Great piece done by Pete, lots of great AHL memories in Albany. Would be nice if we can have some more “FAVORABLE” memorable moments to add to our hockey history. My River Rat & Albany hockey favorite is without a doubt Peter Zezel. Zezel loved the game, he could play, he could fight, most important he showed character in his own actions while assigned to Albany and was great to the fans! Hard working player who belonged in the NHL who didnt think he was too good for the AHL, pure professional and gentleman! Cant think of too many guys like that since then, then again Devils organization doesnt allow for it, what a shame…..

B Jones is the MAN!!!! Any Frankie “The Animal” Bialowas reference makes me smile. Kev, buddy never take a day off from slamming the Devils. You do know that the affiliate from the “good ol’days” was the Devils. Not for nothing Kev but I’m not sure what you want from the team as far as letting players show you they are “great guys”? Please explain….this generation of players is very different from the Zezel, Sutton, Ruchty types.

Again Happy Holidays to all. Kev good points all around. This moment may not crack Mr. Dougherty’s Top 5 but a noteworthy moment was when the R-Rats team played the first game during a period of postponed games after the ill fated bus crash in Bridgeport on a Wednesday night in 09′ and was amazed by the die hards from the “Big A” making the road trip. The team itself coming off the deck from a traumatic experience won the game and did remember Brandon Sutter scoring that first goal which provided a morale boost for the boys on the bench.

Great work, Pete! Needless to say, this brings back a lot of good memories for us fans. Not to knock on the current team’s ability to draw a crowd, but take a look at those attendance figures from the mid-to-late ’90s! And the names that came through our town, too! Just awesome.